Back, and the Same
by pinkyndx
Summary: Natalie was the exception to the curse. If any Sohma hugged her, she would turn into the animal of the person she hugged. Why? Because she is a shape shifter. She went to high school with Ayame, Hatori, and Shigure, but disappeared after graduation. Years later, Natalie has returned, but in a new class. How will she handle the Sohma clan, when she left them for so long?
1. Chapter 1: Revelations

**Well, this is a new story with Natalie in it. I hope at least one person enjoys this story. Here it is, Back, and the Same!**

* * *

"So, how was your vacation?" I asked my best friends as we walked to their house. It was the beginning of our last year in high school, and we just had our first vacation of the school year. They don't know it, but I just wandered around the forest near school. I don't have a home. I live in my school locker. That may sound weird to you, but it's actually sort of nice.

Before I continue with this story, I should tell you, I am a shape shifter. I can change forms when ever I want to, and I don't have any home. I have a part time job, but that is only enough to pay for school, and food. I lock my locker after putting everything inside of it, go inside to do my homework, and then I go to sleep. I don't really have any friends, just three. I have white hair, and most people make fun of me for that. But not my friends. One of them has silver hair. His name is Ayame, and he has two cousins, Hatori, and Shigure. They are my only friends. We spend a lot of tome together. So much in fact, that we have nick names for each other, Ayame is Aya, Hatori is Tori, Shigure is Gure, and I am Nat. Back to the story.

"Well," started Hatori, "We stayed at the Some estate, and that was about it. What about you Natalie?"

"Tori!," shouted Ayame, "You know it's fine to call her Nat, right Gure?"

"Right you are Aya. What did you do Nat?" said Shigure.

"Me? I stayed home. I don't really have any one to spend breaks with." I replied.

"Nat, You are taking us to your home today!" We all stopped, and looked at Ayame, who had just said the one thing I hoped no one would ever ask me.

"Well, The house is a mess, and I don't really have that have that much time, considering my job."

"Natalie, how come you have always come to our house, but you never let us come to yours, and why do you need a part time job? Can't your parents give you the money from working around the house?" Hatori asked.

"Well, my parents aren't that sociable, so I don't think they would let you come," I replied, maybe a little to quickly.

"Speaking of your parents," said Shigure, "Why don't you ever talk about them?"

"Well, there isn't much to say. They aren't around very often, and I don't talk to them."

"Natalie," said Ayame grabbing my arm, "You are taking us to your house right now. I don't care what your parents say, but we have a right to go as your only friends." I started to pull away from Ayame.

"I'm sorry but I can't- WOW!" I said. I pulled so hard, that we started to fall to the ground. The way we were falling, He would land on top of me, and I know he would use that to make me take them to my nonexistent home. As we fell, I could see terror in all of their eyes. When we finally hit the ground, Ayame and I was covered in a cloud of smoke that I was all to used to. It was the smoke I see when I change shape.

As the smoke cleared, Shigure and Hatori were surprised to see Ayame lying on the floor. He quickly got up, and to their astonishment, I was lying on the ground, surrounded by my clothes, as a snake. I got out of my clothes, and looked up at them.

"Well, this is a first," I said, staring up at them.

"Natalie, you are a snake!" shouted Ayame, who had reached out his arm towards me. I slithered up, and around his neck loosely, looking at the other two.

"I'm sorry. This is the first time I ever did something like this. I had hoped you wouldn't find out about this. I'm sorry, but I need to go," I replied. I shot off of Ayame, and slithered quickly over to my clothes. I changed back to my white haired self, got dressed very quickly, and grabbed my school bag. Once the smoke cleared, I was off. I could hear the boys running after me, but I wouldn't slow down.

I heard a bark from behind me. I took a quick glance behind me, and saw a dog almost a foot away, running faster than me by far. I saw Ayame and Hatori way behind me and the dog holding Shigure's bag and clothes, but not Shigure. I didn't get the chance to wonder where he was, when the dog suddenly jumped on me, making me fall on my face. I tried to flip around, but I couldn't with the dog sitting on my back. I did the only thing I could think to do, I changed into a bigger animal. I changed into a wolf, and easily pushed the dog off me. I grabbed my bag in my mouth, and ran off. After a little while, I changed back into a human, clothes and all, and looked behind me.

What I saw surprised me. I saw the dog covered in the smoke I always have when I change. When the smoke cleared, there was Shigure, putting on the last article of clothing he was wearing earlier, while Ayame and Hatori were panting on the floor, having run for a long distance fairly quickly. Shigure ran up to me when he straightened out his clothes. I just stood there in shock. I couldn't believe that Shigure can change into a dog. Is he like me?

Shigure ran up to me and grabbed me by the arm. He looked slightly out of breath as he stared wide eyed at me. "Natalie, you need to come with us to our home. We need to talk about this," said Shigure.

"I agree," I replied. Ayame and Hatori walked over to Shigure and I, looking still out of breath.

"Next time you start running away, give us a notice please. It would help a lot," said Ayame, falling on Hatori who just side stepped, letting him fall on the ground. I grabbed Ayame's arm, and pulled him to his feet. I smiled at his tired face.

"That would be besides the point Aya," I said smiling. Ayame looked surprised, but soon smiled at my care free smile he had come to know and love.

"Excuse me, but we really need to talk about this. Natalie, is your home closer then ours?" said Hatori. All eyes were on me as I looked at the ground.

"How far away from the school are we?" I asked the ground.

"We are a third of the way home. Are we closer to your home, or ours?" said Hatori. I looked up at him, tears almost about to come out.

"Yes, but you can't go to my house," I said, my voice quivering. Hatori could hear my plea, and decided that we would go to their house.

We were silent all the way to their house. Once we got there, we went to Ayame's room. Hatori sat on the chair next to the bed, occupied by Ayame and Shigure, while I sat on the floor.

"Well," started Hatori, "would anyone like to retell today's events?" I raised my hand, and Hatori looked at me funny, but nodded anyway.

"Well, we were all walking here when Ayame fell on me, and I turned into a snake." I said.

"Stop there for now. Ayame, I think you should explain this part," Hatori said to Ayame. Ayame nodded, and looked at me.

"Natalie, the Sohma family is cursed. For some of us, what ever year we were born in, we are possessed by the Chinese Zodiac animal of that year. I was born the year of the snake, Hatori was born the year of the dragon, and Shigure was born the year of the dog. If any of us are hugged by someone of the opposite gender, in our case, a girl, then we turn into that animal. since I landed on you, I should have changed, but I didn't. Instead, you did," said Ayame. I stared wide eyed at him.

"I've met demons, grim reapers, and lord death himself, but I have never met someone cursed before," I said under my breath.

"You've met WHO?" shouted Shigure.

"Never mind that. I think I know what happened," I said.

"What happened then?" asked Hatori.

"I am a shape shifter. Maybe that reversed the curse, and made me change instead of you. That would make sense. That does make sense, right?" I said, looking at Hatori.

"You are a shape shifter? That could explain why this happened." Hatori said, mumbling to himself. "Since we know about you, and you know about us, I think we are done in that subject."

"No!" shouted Ayame, "How did this happen to you Natalie?"

"You don't want to hear my story. It's boring, and no one wants to hear it," I said.

"Well I do. How about you Shigure?" said Ayame.

"I do want to hear this story," said Shigure.

"Maybe later," said Hatori, "There is one more question unanswered. Natalie, where do you live?" All three boys were looking at me now. I looked down at the floor, and started playing with the end of my skirt.

"I don't have a home," I said.

"WHAT?" shouted Ayame, "Where have you been living?"

"In my locker," I said in barely a whisper.

"How do you do that?" asked Hatori.

"I just put all my things in my locker, lock it, then go inside and sleep. I have a small pillow in there that I sleep on. It's quite comfortable," I said reassuringly.

"Not any more you don't," said Ayame, "You are going to stay here with us."

"For once, Aya has a point," said Shigure.

"Where will Natalie stay though?" asked Hatori.

"She can stay here in my room," said Ayame.

"Oh, there's no need. I can just stay in my locker. Some times I stay at a random person's house as a stray cat. I'll be fine," I said.

"No," Ayame said with an authority that made most remember that he was student body president, "You will stay here. You can sleep as a cat, but you are staying here." I stared shocked at my friends. They all had a look that said that they would not take no for an answer.

I started to cry. "Thanks you guys. This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me in quite a while," I said, trying to suppress my tears of joy. Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure sat there, smiling down at me, happy that I will be with them.

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**Thanks for reading this if you did. I hope this was good enough for all of you who read this. I haven't finished the series, but I am almost halfway done. I hope I stay true to the characters through out the story. I plan on having one more chapter with the Sohma boys in high school. After that,Natalie will be in the beginning of the manga. It will make sense when you read it, I hope. Hope to see you next chapter!  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Back, and the Same

I stayed with the Sohma's for the rest of high school. I mostly stayed in Ayame's room, but every once in a while I would sleep in Shigure's, or Hatori's room. After a month, I told them about how I had lived in multiple countries, spoke several different languages, and could take on a few accents. They would ask me every once in a while, they being Ayame and Shigure, to talk in an accent, or to change shape to look like some of the people I had met. No one found out that I lived with them. That is, until graduation.

They were going to go on a vacation, but they didn't want to go because I was there. They said that there was no way they could get out of it, but they had to try something. I don't know the exact details, but Hatori told me that the three of them told the head of the house about me. That I knew about the curse, that I had lived with them all through out our last year in high school, and that I was a shape shifter. The head of the house didn't like that, and ordered me to have my memory's erased. Hatori said that I should just go away so he would not have to do that to me, so I agreed.

I stayed in Hatori's room that night, and at midnight, I left. I knew from the past that I am horrible at good byes, so I decided not to have one this time. Before I left, I made little wooden animals for them of all the zodiacs, even the cat. I felt sorry when I heard about the cat. Having to be tricked by the rat to miss out on the feast has a sad thing to happen. If I ever met the cat, I would try to help him beat the rat at at least one thing. I never thought that I would meet the cat, or the rat. I told my self that I would never go into the life of the Sohma house again.

For what seemed like three months, I was in what you could call a different world. I call it wonderland. This is not about wonderland, this is about right after that.

I came back to earth in the middle of the night, much like how I had left it. I was in the forest, and decided to find a place to stay. As I walked through the forest, I noticed a house in the distance. I started walking towards the house, but when I got there, I saw something I never thought I'd see. I saw Shigure, but quite a few years older. I stood there for a while, staring at my old friend. He was writing something, but I couldn't see what.

Shigure got up, and walked over to another room, one I couldn't see. He returned a few minutes later, and stood by the door, as if waiting for someone to come over by him. I hid behind a tree, and looked back at him. He was looking randomly around the forest, but stopped when he looked at my tree. He squinted, but I stopped looking then, trying to take as much cover as possible. I couldn't let him see me after all these years. How could I explain my disappearance?

"Natalie?" I heard Shigure whisper. I couldn't take it any more. I dashed off away from the house, silent tears in my eyes. I ran all the way to the city, and started to wander the streets. After a while, I found a big hotel, and went inside. I walked up to the frount desk, and waited for some one to come up from the other side.

"How may I help you?" Said a nice lady from the other side of the desk.

"I was wondering f there are any jobs available here at the moment. I just transferred to school, and I would like to have a job to help out at home," I lied. She smiled knowingly.

"We have a part time job you could apply for in the afternoon. Would that fit your needs?" she asked.

"That would be perfect," I said, "Where can I apply?"

"Here is an application. Just fill it out, then give it back to me," she said with a smile.

"Thank you so much!" I said as she handed me the form. I filled it out quickly, and gave it back to her. She looked over it, and looked up with a smile upon her face.

"There is an opening for cleaning the rooms in the afternoon that you could fill. Will you take it?" she asked.

"I would love to. Thank you so much. I will be here tomorrow," I said with a smile.

"Great," she said. And with that, I left the hotel, exited that I can stay in the city I knew so well.

* * *

After a month of working, I finally had enough money saved up to go to back school. I love learning, even if I already knew about it, I would learn it all again. I decided to go back to the school that I had gone to with the Sohma boys, Kalibara High. I only have one friend, Tohru Honda. She goes to Kalibara, and when I told her I would be going too, she was so exited. I didn't tell her about where I lived, because she wouldn't believe me. I live at random people's houses. I found out that if you act like a stray, some people will take you in for the night. I wish I could live in a normal home, but I am fine with what I have.

I don't really have much. I only have one change of clothes, since I saved up all my money to go back to school. I always knew that when I transform, my clothes stay with my human form. Yes, human form, not true form. In my human form, I have waist length white hair, and brown eyes. In my true form, I have knee length white hair, and purple eyes. I also for some reason, I always wear a sleeveless dress that was a light pink that went to my knees, along with pink flats, white leggings, and a black bolero that had short sleeves, while my hair would be tied in pigtails. I usually wear in in a braid coming down on my right side.

I was a bit nervous about starting school late, but Tohru told me that she would stay with me in school. She told me about her friends Hanajima, and Uotani. They sounded nice, but I was worried about the two boys she mentioned were in her class; Yuki and Kyo. She said they are extremely shy, and don't like to talk to people much, but they are very nice. That reminds me of three boys I knew at Kalibara.

We don't get to talk much, since she is an office janitor, and I am in house keeping, but we do spend some time together. I sometimes help her out with her job, and I usually walk out of the lobby with her, but from there, we go in different directions. The day before I started school, I was walking with Tohru to the lobby. She would usually start talking by now, but she seamed in deep thought. I didn't want to interrupt her, so I stayed silent.

As we neared the lobby, Tohru slipped on a wrapper on the floor. I helped her get up, and when she looked over to the stuff she dropped, we saw a boy sitting in a chair near us looking at Tohru's bag. When he saw her name on one of the books, he looked at her.

"Toh nu!?" said the strange boy.

"What?" I said. He looked at me, and said more things in his language.

"Ko ta toh nu!?"

"What? Are you saying..." stuttered Tohru. The boy pulled off his sun glasses, and stared Tohru straight in the eyes.

"Sieh do! Welch ein Gluck!" Tohru and I were totally confused by now. The boy jumped out of his chair, and opened his arms.

"Ich freue mich, Sie zu seheh!" shouted the strange boy.

"I don't know any English," said Tohru, now utterly confused.

"Sehr Angenehm!"

"He isn't speaking English Tohru," I said to her.

"Sehr hubsch!" said the strange boy, leaning in close. I backed away, But Tohru didn't, and she got a kiss on the cheek. She was now so confused, she looked like she was in a daze.

"I have to go!" shouted Tohru, who grabbed her bag, and ran for the front door. I looked back at the strange boy, who looked happy. He looked at me, waved, and walked farther into the building. I stood there a minute, thinking about what just happened. I decided to see if Tohru was alright. I walked out the door, and saw Tohru talking to a boy.

"If you have any trouble, please let me know. Because, I'll help you," said the boy, who looked as if he had been waiting for a while.

"Thank you," replied Tohru.

"Tohru, you alright?" I asked walking up to her. She turned around, and I could see her smiling like she always does.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Oh, this is Yuki, my friend I was telling you about," said Tohru. I looked over at Yuki and gasped. He looked just like Ayame, only with darker hair cut shorter. He smiled at me.

"Nice to meet you. You must be Natalie," said Yuki, stretching out his hand. I shook it, a little dazedly. "I heard that you are going to be going to our school soon."

"Yeah," I said, "I'm entering your grade."

"I hope to see you around," said Yuki. Tohru and Yuki walked away, while I just stood there. Could he be a Sohma?

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**I hope every one liked this chapter. I felt like there was to much describing in the beginning, but that the ending was good. I hope to hear from you all soon!  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Forgetting, and Remembering

_Natalie Pov._

Tohru told me about a festival that Kalibara is holding. I remember the time I helped out at the cultural festival there. I had so mush fun with Shigure and Ayame. Hatori never really liked to have fun like the rest of us, but he was always glad company. Tohru told me the date of the festival, so I decided to go and see what it's like. I can't wait to make new friends. I do wonder if I can ever go and talk to Shigure and the others. Oh well, I guess I cross that bridge when I get to it.

Anyways, I walked up to Kalibara about an hour after it started. Why? Because not all little girls who let stray animals in their house will let the animal leave the next day. It took me an hour to find a small hole in the wall of her bed room. Just turn into a mouse, and I'm on my way, so late that I will have to apologize for my rude behavior. I hope Tohru is still here.

"_Tohru Honda of class1-D, Tohru Honda of class 1-D, please come to the first floor conference lounge. Tohru Honda of class 1-D, please come to the first floor conference lounge._"

I looked up as the P.A. System called for my friend.

"Well, I guess I'm going to the first floor conference lounge, if Tohru's there," I said as I walked into the school. I hope I can find it. I started walking towards the general direction of the conference lounge. It took my about ten minutes, but just as I turned a corner, I saw Tohru turning the corner away from me on the other side of the corridor. I started running to Tohru, when out of an open door, some one walked right in to me.

I didn't even have time to blink as I landed on top of the person, landing on the floor with a hard thud, immediately being covered in purple smoke. When the smoke cleared, I saw that I had landed on the same boy who Kissed Tohru. What was he doing here? He looked at me, surprised, and slightly scared. I looked down, to see my clothes, and rabbit's fee-RABBIT'S FEET?

"Momiji!" I turned and looked into the room. I saw a tall man in a suit, his hair covering his left eye. He look startled, but quite calm. He walked over to the boy and I, who's name I could only guess was Momiji. The man leaned out the door, looked to see if anyone else was around, then grabbed the boy, and pulled him inside. After shutting the door, he turned around and looked at the boy.

"Momiji, what have you done now?" said the man, in an annoyed tone. I, still laying on his stomach, looked down at him. He was wearing a loose, light purple shirt, green shorts, and a dark purple hat. His light blond hair was cut at his neck, framing his bewildered face.

"I don't know Hari. You tell me," said Momiji, looking at the man. I looked at the man, and realized something that now seemed obvious. This man looked like an older version of my friend Hatori. He looked down at me, as if trying to remember something from a long time ago.

"What is your name?" said the man called Hari.

"Ha-Hatori?" I said to the man. He gave a small gasp, looking surprised at what I called him. He bent down, and looked at my rabbit self.

"Natalie?" Hatori picked me up off of Momiji, and to my astonishment, hugged me. I just stayed there, being hugged by my old friend, who did not show much emotion. I slowly wrapped my tiny arms around his neck, and leaned my head against his. He pulled me away, and looked at me with a smile. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes it has." I smiled at Hatori as he set me down, grabbing Momiji by the hand, and pulling him out of the room. I wondered why he did that, until I heard a pop, then got covered in purple smoke. I quickly put on my clothes that were laying on the floor, and walked out into the hallway where Hatori was speaking with Momiji.

"Do you understand?" Hatori asked Momiji.

"I gotcha!" said Momiji with a small salute. They looked over at me when I closed the door, and immediately the young boy ran up to me. "Hi! Hatori just told me that you guys know each other, and that you know about the curse. He also told me that you act differently, and we make you change instead of the normal way. I hope we can be friends too!"

I smiled at the boy. "I would like to be your friend too," I said, looking over at Hatori.

"I suppose you have the accommodations as before?" Hatori asked.

"No, I don't go to yet. I applied, but I don't have a locker yet. I just go to random houses and stay the night as a stray," I replied, now looking down on the ground.

"We should tell Akito about this." This made Momiji give a small gasp, and Hatori to become his normal stony self. "Akito is the head of the family, and he will know what to do."

"Ok. If that is what you need to do, then let's do it." I said, slightly confused as to why he had to tell this Akito person, but I guess that is better then just standing here.

"Come. We will go now," said Hatori, turning, and walking away. Momiji and I looked at each other, and followed Hatori. As we left the building, I looked back at the school. I remember all the things I had done when I went to Kalibara. I can't wait for more memories in this school. Momiji and I got in the back of Hatori's car, and stayed quiet until we got to our destination. As we got out of the car, Hatori called over to Momiji.

"Momiji, go to your room. Natalie, follow me." Momiji smiled at me, then skipped off to his room, while I followed Hatori to a small room. He told me to wait while he talked to Akito. I didn't have to wait to long before Hatori came back into the room he put me in. He looked a little sad, but normal.

"I'm sorry, but Akito is staying with his last decision. I need to erase your memories."

"Ok," I said, smiling. He looked surprised, but quickly got over it as he bent down, and put his hand on my head. I saw a flash of light, then darkness. Light started to come into view, but I felt different. I was sitting, but now it felt like I was laying down. As the room came into view, I heard some voices.

"How long has she been here?"

"She passed out yesterday, and has yet to wake up."

"Will she be alright?"

"I hope so."

I could see the room clearly now. I was on the floor with something on top of me. I looked down, and saw that it was a blanket. I looked up to see what appeared to be Hatori and Shigure talking in the corner. I tried sitting up, but I ended up back on the ground, and with a head ache. I moaned as I successfully rolled over onto my side, looking over at the other two in the room. They came over to me, bending down to see if anything was wrong. Hatori put a hand on my forehead, and pulled out a stethoscope.

"No need for that doctor," I said with a smile. "I don't think that will help you much. I just have a head ache." Shigure smiled, while Hatori just put the stethoscope in his ears, then against my chest.

"That's not right, I can't hear your pulse," said Hatori, feeling my neck, and wrist.

"The next time you try and erase my memory, can you make sure I don't pass out?"

They stopped moving.

"Now Natalie, why would you think that Hari would do that?" asked Shigure. Hatori looked slightly confused, not being able to find a heart beat.

"Because Shigure, I still know that you are a dog, Akito is sticking with his decision, and Hatori will never tell me his zodiac. And Hatori, can you please stop trying to find my heart beat? I lost that a century ago."

They were shocked. Shigure, who was crouching, fell backwards away from me, and Hatori stopped checking for a heart beat that wasn't there. Hatori got up and left the room, while Shigure just sat there, looking at me.

"You remember then?"

"Yup. Every bit of it."

"When did you loose your heart beat?"

"About a century ago. I have died you know."

"Yeah, I forgot about that."

It was silent for a while, until Hatori walked into the room. He helped me up, making sure I don't fall on either of them, then lead me out of the room.

"It seems that since you remember everything after I erased your memory, you are to be watched." I stopped walking, and looked at Hatori.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means that Akito wants a Sohma to watch you all the time. Akito has asked that you live with Shigure, and the others living there as well." I looked over at Shigure, who was smiling at me.

"Just like old times?"

"Just like old times. You know, minus Hatori and Ayame." Shigure and I laughed while Hatori was still on the topic.

"No one but the people you meet will know about this. Shigure, no telling Ayame about it. No one will know until they see her for them self."Shigure started to complain, but Hatori kept knocking him down. I started laughing.

"You guys are still the same aren't you?" I said, still laughing. We walked to the entrance to where ever we are, and Hatori said his good bye.

"I hope to see you again Natalie."

"Looking forward to it Hatori." He smiled, and walked away. I turned back to Shigure. "Shall we?" I asked, holding out my elbow.

"We shall," replied Shigure. We laughed a little as we started walking to his house, and my new home.

* * *

**Hi! I got into one of those moods today, and had to write a chapter. I hope you all like it. If anyone finds something wrong in anything, please tell me and I will change it. I noticed I got Hatori's nick name wrong, and I went back and changed it, but I know I made more mistakes then that. If you liked it, then favorite, follow, like, subscribe, heart, eat, do something. I can't wait for the next chapter, and what all of you have to say about it. Any questions, please ask, and you shall receive. Hope to hear from you. Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Elephant

_Natalie Pov._

"So Shigure, Hatori mentioned that you have others living with you?" Shigure and I were walking to his house. Hatori said that I have to live with Shigure for now. At least I get to be with Shigure.

"Yes, I live with two other Sohmas, and one wonderful little flower that has been taking care of this messy house of rowdy boys. There is Yuki Sohma, Kyo Sohma, and Tohru Honda."

"Tohru Honda? I work with her!" Shigure looked over at me with a smile.

"Well, it is a small world."

"Shigure, Hatori said that I need to always be with a Sohma. Is that true?" Shigure sighed.

"Yes, Akito will want you to be with a Sohma constantly. I don't think that you will even be allowed to go your job alone. You might be allowed to go to school, but he won't like it. You might be able to be with Tohru, but probably not for some time."

"Oh well. Being here is better then nothing." I could see Shigure smile at me from the corner of my eye as we neared his house. After a few minuets, I broke the silence.

"It's too quiet." Shigure smiled, still looking forward.

"What would you suggest we do about it then?" I smiled, hooked arms with Shigure, and began skipping. He skipped along with me, listening to me sing.

_We're off to see the wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_  
_ We hear he is a whiz of a wiz, if ever a wiz there was_  
_ If ever, oh ever a wiz there was, The Wizard of Oz is one because_  
_ Because, because, because, because, because_  
_ Because of the wonderful things he does_  
_ We're off to see the wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_

After singing it a couple of times, we finally reached Shigure's house. Shigure went into the kitchen, shouting out, "Tohru, my sweet flower, I have returned!"

"I'm so happy you got here safely! I'm almost done making dinner, so it won't be to long." I heard in the other room. I looked around the room I was left in, and saw that there were two boys sleeping at the table. I didn't recognize the boy with orange hair, but I did remember the boy with grey hair. What was his name? Yuki, right? Any ways, I remembered him from when Tohru introduced us. He looks more like Ayame the longer I look at him.

"Natalie! What are you doing here?" I looked up to see Tohru standing in the doorway with a pot of what appeared to be soup. I smiled, and sat down between the two sleeping boys. Shigure walked past her, and sat next to Yuki. Tohru walked over to the table, and put the pot down. As she walked back to the kitchen to get bowls, the two boys began to stir. The boy to my left was the first to wake, and when he did, I don't think he was glad to see me.

"Who the hell are you?!" I cringed as the orange haired boy shouted at me.

"Please don't say that," I asked him as he glared at me.

"Say what? I don't care, just who the hell are you?!" I cringed again when he said that word.

"I'll ask you one more time, please don't say that."

"Kyo," Shigure said, "You really should stop. She doesn't tolerate it at all." Kyo turned to Shigure and glared at him.

"What the hell do you mean? What doesn't she tolerate, and who the he-"

He was on the floor, and surprisingly, it wasn't all my fault. Just as he started to say 'hell' for the fourth time, I threw a small bar of soap in his mouth, making him wobble a bit. That wasn't what made him all sprawled out on the floor. Before he could sit up straight again, I ducked, nearly missing the fist that slammed into Kyo's face. I turned to see Yuki rubbing his eyes in a sleepy fashion.

"Stupid cat, you woke me up." Tohru walked in with five bowls, and put one in front of each of us. As Tohru sat down, and every one got soup, I could feel their eyes staring at me. I just ate along with everyone else, until a conversation was started.

"So Tohru, what did you do over at the Sohma estate?" Tohru looked up at Yuki, slightly surprised that she was being talked to. She looked down into her soup, and puled a camera out of her pocket.

"Hatori gave me this." Kyo grabbed the camera in a flash, and broke it in half. Before Tohru could even look surprised, Kyo threw half of the camera at Yuki. He caught it just before it toppled his bowl off of the table. I watched as Yuki pulled the film out, and tear it into tiny pieces. I felt something coming in my direction, so I put up my hand, and felt the rest of the camera in my hand. I turned around, and threw it back at Kyo, who got hit square in the forehead, falling over onto the floor for the second time that night.

I kept eating my food, feeling all eyes on me. All, but Shigure's eyes. We all ate in silence for a while, and even continued after everyone was done eating. I stuck my spoon in my mouth, and just let it stay there out of boredom. Kyo eventually left, but no one else moved. After a while, I moved to where he had been sitting. Finally, I took the spoon out of my mouth, and spoke.

"Well, come on. Someone talk about the elephant." The two teens looked at me, confusion clear on their faces. Shigure laughed, then looked at me.

"The elephant in the room. Something that everyone can see is clearly out of place, but no one will talk about it. I believe she is referring to herself as an elephant." Tohru still looked confused, but Yuki turned to me.

"What is your name?"

"Natalie Michaelis," I said almost automatically.

"Well Ms. Michaelis, what are you doing here?"

"I think you would believe Shigure faster than you would believe me." Yuki turned to Shigure.

"Well, you see, Yuki, Natalie is in a bit of a fix. Akito wants her watched at all times by a Sohma, but no one is allowed to speak of her unless they have met her in person. So, Natalie will accompany Tohru in this house."

"What!" Yuki stood up, and stared at me. "What could you possibly have done to make Akito do this to you?!"

I stared up at his face, which bore a mixture of fear and confusion. I could tell from the look in his eyes there was a deep meaning to his fear. I stood up and looked him square in the eyes,saying, "By simply being me. I knew Shigure a while back, and when Akito found out we were friends, he wanted me away. I left, but now I'm back, and I can't go away again. Because of this, I must stay under the supervision of a Sohma at all times. Don't worry, I don't like him either."

Yuki sat back down, staring up at me. "E-excuse me... But if you're staying here, where are you sleeping?" Everyone turned to Tohru as she 'hid' behind her bowl of soup, now empty.

"Oh, I'll just sleep in Shigure's room," I said. I used to sleep in his room all the time in high school. I would just sleep as a dog at the foot of his bed, and no one cared. I looked over at Shigure, who was smiling at me, remembering high school.

"I'm sorry Ms. Michaelis, but that is highly inappropriate, and although Shigure might agree to it, I can't," said Yuki.

"Don't worry, its not like I keep him up or anything." I replied with a yawn.

"I doubt that you would, but I still must disagree."

"Fine then, what would you have me do then?"

"I know!" We all turned to Tohru, smiling as she always does. "You can sleep in my room. That would be fine, right Yuki?"

"What a wonderful idea Ms. Honda."

"Yuki!" Shouted Shigure, "Making our precious little Tohru share her room? Why, I never imagined you as that kind of person!"

"Shigure," I started, "Leave him alone. If it matters that much, I'll just sleep on the couch." And with that said, I walked the few feet to the couch, falling on top of it and falling asleep almost immediately.

* * *

After Natalie fell on the couch, Tohru grabbed all the bowls, and headed off to the kitchen to wash them before going to bed. Yuki turned to Shigure, wondering why it was that Natalie seemed so friendly with Shigure after less then a day of knowing him.

"Shigure," said Yuki, "What did she do to make Akito do this to her?" Shigure got up, and gave a stretch as he walked over to a closet to get a blanket.

"She went to the school festival yesterday, and in search for Tohru, bumped into Momiji. They took her to the Sohma estate, and when they erased her memory, she was unconscious for a full day."

"Why would that be enough for her to have to stay here?" Yuki asked as Shigure walked over to Natalie, laying the blanket down on her.

"When she was out, she started talking in her sleep. She said many thing which I don't even know about, but the little bit I heard before she woke up was about our curse, and she said multiple names of the Sohmas with this curse, including your name, my name, Momiji's name, Hatori's name, Kyo's name, Ayame's name, and even Akito's name."

"How can that be?" Yuki stared wide eyed at the girl laying on the couch. Shigure walked to his room, leaving him and Natalie alone. Yuki walked over to Natalie, and thought for a while. Finally, after a minute, he said, "What is Shigure?"

Even in sleep, Natalie heard the question, and barely a trace of a smile went across her face before she muttered, "Shigure, my little puppy."

Yuki was surprised by her answer. How could she possibly know Shigure was a dog? He desided to see what else she knew.

"Momiji?"

"Bunny."

"Akito?"

"Leader."

"Yuki?"

"Ayame."

Yuki was surprised by this answer also. How could she know they were brothers?

"Ayame?"

"Snake."

"Natalie?" He didn't know what he would get, but he knew it was worth a try.

"Alone." Natalie started to snore, and Yuki knew he would get no more answers today. When he left the room, he left behind more then just Natalie. He left unanswered questions. He left unheard answers. He left behind Tohru, who was just on the other side of the door.

* * *

**Hi! Please don't kill me for not updating sooner. I know that I told some people that this would come up a month sooner then it did, but life happens. I want to let you guys know that in the next chapter, there will be a character from another one of my stories when Natalie is dreaming, but it won't make much of a difference on the story all together. I also wanted to tell you all that all the stories with Natalie in it are connected in a time line that starts in the late 1800s, and continues on to 2013. If you guys are find with me tieing them together, then cooly. But, If you guy don't want me to, then I'll just make them tied together on another site. It's your choice, so just tell me what you think. Also, a reader named Yang told me that the last chapter reminded them of the wizard of oz song, so I added it in. Hope you all like the chapter, and please tell me what you want! 'Til next time!  
**

**~Pinky**


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